Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (COST)

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,500 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $39,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,570,895 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,209,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,873 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,121,793 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,667,910,000 after acquiring an additional 858,755 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,582.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 250,388 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $52,326,000 after acquiring an additional 235,505 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,018,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 506,193 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $105,784,000 after acquiring an additional 208,764 shares during the last quarter. 71.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $237.74 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $167.05 and a twelve month high of $245.16. The company has a market cap of $105.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 4th. The retailer reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.02. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 24.67% and a net margin of 2.21%. The firm had revenue of $44.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 9th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 8th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.38%.

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Richard M. Libenson sold 2,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total value of $458,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,976. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard A. Galanti sold 4,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.23, for a total value of $945,958.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 32,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,332,712.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,312 shares of company stock valued at $14,547,272 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BidaskClub raised Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 12th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 11th. Loop Capital set a $265.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $255.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.94.

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Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates membership warehouses. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company provides dry and packaged foods, and groceries; snack foods, candies, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, and garden and patio products; meat, bakery, deli, and produces; and apparel and small appliances.